Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S. Indiana St.
Mooresville, IN 46158
http://www.graybrotherscatering.com/

My first review on Gray’s Borther’s was pretty rough and well deserved.  If you watched Man v. Food and read my rant, you would easily realize that I am still on my soapbox.  This was a lunch meeting with a client and they wanted to go to Gray’s Brothers.  I was trapped.

I couldn’t believe the line for this joint.  A Wednesday lunch and they were about forty people deep.  Keep in mind this is cafeteria food, so it moved quickly.

What I Ate: Chicken and Noodles, Corn, Green Beans; around $8.

Last time I had dark meat chicken, mac and cheese and corn.   I kept the corn on the plate as I felt like I needed some veggies to add to my chicken and noodles.

The chicken and noodles should’ve been named noodles and chicken.  I would say that it was 85-90% noodles with very little dark meat chicken sprinkled in.  However, it tasted pretty damn good.  I am not sure if it hit the spot since this warm meal balanced out the six degree winter, but it was pretty tasty.  The noodles were homemade and with a little salt and pepper and it was pretty good.  There was so much sauce on the plate, I had to eat it with a spoon though.  I would appreciate if they didn’t flop everything on the plate because all three sections were trying to get it on with each other.

Green beans had a little bit of bacon in them and the corn wasn’t bad either.  Nothing interesting to report here.

Would I Buy It Again?  Upgraded from “No Way!” to “Maybe.” The food wasn’t bad, but I walked away wondering why people wait fifteen minutes in line for a weekday lunch.  The chicken and noodles needed a lot more chicken in it, but if you are looking for comfort classics to balance out the freezing cold Indiana winter, you can get your fix at Gray Brothers.

-wibia

I was excited to hear that Man v. Food was coming to Indy.  I have watched every show since the show started and I would easily say that I am a fan.  However, they really dropped the ball on Indy…or should I say crashed and burned since they tried to reference the race…at every turn.  Let’s take a close look at every segment.

Edwards Drive-In
I have been there pre-blog and there is a reason why I haven’t returned.  Let’s reference this post by our dear friend The Tenderloin Connoisseur.

He gave the tenderloin a 3/5 and said that he wouldn’t drive across town for it.  Just like every review on his site, I agree 100%.  Also, why would they freeze a fresh cut tenderloin?  The term “Frozen Pork Fritter” is a dirty word in these parts and it’s almost as bad as “Kelvin Sampson.”

With that being said, WouldIBuyItAgain.com will promise to review or make a segment called “Tenderloin of the Month” from here on out.  I would like to restore some confidence back in our state sandwich.

[Editor's Note:  We will run our first Tenderloin of the Month review on Monday.]

Grays Brothers Cafeteria
Here is my review.

I understand the story of telling about a down-home-cafeteria-style-middle-America-meal, etc. (good idea).  However…MEATLOAF?  We are now known for f’ing meatloaf?!?!

Not to mention, if you are going to be on TV mixing meat, wear gloves!  The strawberry pie was lame too…strawberries with…a strawberry glaze and homemade whipped cream.  One guy on the show said that he drove twenty miles for the pies…really?!  So you are telling me that you can’t make that pie?!  Trust me, it is easy as…pie!!

Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream
Here is my review.

For two years, I literally lived one hundred yards from Bub’s…and I went there ONLY four times.  In one of those times, both IndianapolisEater and I easily conquered The Big Ugly (one burger each).  Despite that, I am not going to really rip on this choice.  There are very few eating challenges in this city and The Big Ugly is the king.  Bub’s gets a good amount of hype and is in the perfect location.

However, I am disappointed in Adam’s effort. The burger patty is 22 ounces pre-cooked, he completed 2.25 burgers.  That is three pounds of meat and maybe and extra pound of toppings and bread.  LAME!!!  This is coming from a guy that has ate a four pound milk shake (in addition to a large sandwich with it) and consistently eats five pounds plus.  To me, this is him just not giving a shit and wanting to get out of town.  I have never seen him perform so poorly at a challenge.

Therefore, I am starting a challenge to the beloved WIBIA army. Eat more than Adam at Bub’s…and you will get your picture on the blog and a special Hall of Fame section solely for you.

In a weird way, I am disappointed in Man v. Food.  It was a poor attempt to showcase this city.  Honestly, I think Kendra “Having a Baby” showcased the city better than Man v. food.

Next week, I’ll show you a review of another place that Man v. Food visited that Adam was reallly excited about (Phoenix episode).   I have been to five Man v. Food restaurants and I’ve liked only one of them quite a bit (Ike’s Place in San Francisco).  

All in all, I know that I am playing arm chair quarterback here (race theme = back seat driver), but there was a better story to tell about the city.  How about the Tenderloin at Big Daddy’s (S. Meridian), Shrimp Cocktail at St. Elmo’s (spicy tradition) and then wrap it up with Bub’s? 

Rant over.

-wibia

Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S. Indiana St.
Mooresville, IN 46158
http://www.graybrotherscatering.com/

Out of 28 reviews on Google, this place has 4.5 stars out of 5.  80% of the people like it on Urban Spoon.  People travel here form across Indiana for their old school cafeteria favorites, fried chicken, swiss steak, meatloaf, etc.  I am usually not the cafeteria type of guy, but I was impressed by MCL, so let’s see how this goes.

On average, lunch and drink will run you close to $10.00.  Every time I am at a cafeteria, I get the same thing, fried chicken, corn and mac and cheese.  Sub mashed potatoes for corn if I am feeling skinny that day!  Ha.

White meat fried chicken was good, but nothing to rave about.  Better than Chester Fried from the gas station, but it is not as good as KFC on a good day.  However, it was an honest portion and cooked well, very juicy, but lacking seasoning.   Corn is corn, nothing more to report there.

Mac and Cheese was another disappointment.  Average at best and I think that I would prefer the Mac from KFC as well.  It basically tasted like elbow noodles and shredded cheddar cheese.  A good Mac is creamy, but this was not a good one as it was a touch dry.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. I left thinking, what the hell was that?! It wasn’t horrible, but it reminded me of a place that was holding on to the glory days of the past.   Once you step away from the fact that your grandparents used to take you there after church, you will probably stop reminiscing and realize that there is better out there.

-WIBIA